Dispensing container



Nov. 18, 1969 R. J. DORNBUSH 3,478,948

DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed Feb. 26 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1

INVENTOR ROSS J. DORNBUSH BY Mujflw ATTORNEY Nov. 18, 1969 R. J.DORNBUSH 3,478,948

DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed Feb. 26, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet FIG. 3

lNVENTOR ROSS J. DORNBUSH ATTORNEY United States. Patent.

3,478,948 DISPENSING CONTAINER Ross J. Dornbush, Jenison, Mich.,';assignor to The Mead Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of OhioFiled Feb. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 708,080 Int. Cl. B65d /72 US. Cl. 229-17 9Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A foldably constructed dispensingcontainer provided with a non-reclosable dispensing bin. Non-reclosureis achieved by sandwiching each of a pair of bin flaps between a sidefiap and an outer flap and in surface contact with a locking flap. Uponopening the bin, the bin flaps assume an edgewise alignment with thelocking flaps thereby abuttingly preventing bin reclpsure. Otherfeatures are disclosed for sealing the container and for achieving alocked-open condition,

Background of the invention My invention relatestoza dispensingcontainer which opens for, content removal and then is non-reclosable.It relates'morehspecifically to sucha container wherein thenon-reclosure feature is' achieved by means of a locking flap interposedbetween a cooperating'pair of restraining flaps. Further, and inparticular embodiment thereof it relates to a folded dispensingcontainer provided with a dispensing bin which, upon opening, locks intoa fixed open position. i 1

This invention was conceived as a result of backgroundPl'OblEIIlSiI'ElfitCdIO self service merchandising. For. selling itemssuch as cabinet'knobs, toys; service parts and the like it is highlydesirableto .providea container adapted for'bulk shipment 'of the'productbut'yet suitable for easy opening'an'd setup asan=attractivedispenser. These general objectives. are met by a number'of prior artcontainers-typically structures'such as that disclosedin US.

Patent 2,684,792. However, priorart'containers are generally subject toreclosure. In supermarket shopping where the opened dispenserperforms'a-"display function it is important to protect sales bypreventing closure by passing customers. Y Y

' Thus there has existed a requirement for a container adapted for theabove stated shipping and dispensing functioris, but moreovernon-reclosable after opening. Additionally it has. been desired toconstruotsuch a container from a single-piece blank and to"cornbinenon-reclosur with restricted opening.to ..achieve locking in an openedposition.

Summary of the invention I have found that a non-reclosable feature canbe incorporated into a folded dispensing container by providing thecontainer with a pair of bin flaps defining side walls of a dispensingbin and placing at least one of the bin flaps in partial face-to-facecontact with a corresponding locking flap. The locking action isperformed in cooperation with an associated side flap and an associatedouter -fiap which said flaps, upon opening of the bin, force the binflap into edgewise alignment with the locking flap. Thereafter theprevious face-to-face contact cannot be regained.

I have found further that the above non-reclosing feature may becombined with a restricted opening feature by appropriate configurationof the upper edge of the bin flap. Also, in relation thereto, I havefound that closure for shipment is facilitated by trimming the loweredges of the bin flaps. This provides clearance for insertion ofself-clinching staples after loading through the side. This avoids theneed for a gluing operation and makes an ideal shipping package.Accidental opening is precluded by application of a Sealing strip to thefront Wall of the bin.

Description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a blank for use in assembly of mycontainer in the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a pictorial drawing showing a set up and closed container inthe preferred embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partially sectioned pictorial drawing showing a set up andopened container in the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partially sectioned pictorial drawing showing a set up andopened container in an alternative embodiment.

Description of preferred embodiments The preferred embodiment of mycontainer is constructed from a single-piece blank as shown in FIG. 1.The blank is generally designated by the numeral 1 and is divided byparallel score lines 15, 16, and 17 into a top panel 2, a rear panel 3,a bottom panel 4, and a front panel 5. Parallel score lines 13 and 14further divide blank 1 into a pair of outer flaps 6, 6 attached to toppanel 2, a pair of locking flaps 7, 7 attached to rear panel 3, a pairof side flaps 8, 8 attached to bottom panel 4, and a pair of bin flaps9, 9 attached to front panel 5. Locking flaps 7, 7 are provided withrecesses 10, 10 the function of which will be described subsequently.Similarly bin flaps 9, 9 are trimmed as shown generally at 11, 11 and12, 12.

Blank 1 is folded to make container 18 as shown in FIG. 2. Folds aremade along score lines 15, 16, and 17 to place panels 2, 3, 4, and 5 intop, rear, bottom and front positions respectively. The flap foldingsequence is such that flaps 8 and 6 are on the inside and outsiderespectively with flaps 7 and 9 in partial face-to-face contact andsandwiched between flaps -8 and 6. Recess 10 and trim lines 11 and 12assume positions as illustrated by broken lines in FIG. 2. As shown inthe figure, trim line 12 provides clearance between the lower edge ofthe bin flap and the bottom of the container. This permits use ofstaples 20 to secure the outer flap while yet permitting unrestrictedmovement of the bin flap. Container sealing is completed by applying aremovable sealing strip across the abutting edges of top panel 2 andfront panel 5. The container is easily opened by pulling off the sealingstrip or alternatively, as shown at 19, by pulling a tear cord imbeddedwithin the sealing strip.

The function of recess 10 is illustrated in FIG. 3 wherein the container18 is depicted in a fully opened position. As shown, bin flap'9 has beenopened beyond face-to-face contact with locking flap 7. Flaps 6 and 8have cooperated to place flaps 7 and 9 into edgewise alignment. Thisaction is further assisted by pressure forces from any contents withinthe container. Any reclosure force is then resisted by engaging contactbetween the lower edge of flap 9 and the recessed edge of flap 7. Thelocking angle is, of course, determined by the geometry of recess 10 andtrim line 12. However, it is obvious that recess 10 and trim line 12 arenot essential to the practice of my invention. It is required only thatflaps 7 and 9 be configured for partial face-to-face contact in thefully closed position and consequent edgewise alignment after binopening.

Another feature of the preferred embodiment is the engaging contactbetween the upper edge of flap 9 and the lower surface of panel 2. Thiscontact limits bin opening, the amount of such opening being controlledby the trimming 11 at the upper edge of flap 9. As illustrated in FIG.3, the bin opening limit has been set equal to the 3 reclosure lockinglimit. This looks the bin in a fixed-open position.

The above described method of limiting bin opening is convenientlyachieved because the preferred embodiment of my container has a fullheight front panel. Obviously it is practical to use a shortened frontpanel such as panel 26 of container 21 (see FIG. 4). In the alternativeembodiment an extension panel 24 is foldably attached to top panel 23. Atucking flap 32 is foldably attached on either side of panel 24. Asshown in FIG. 4, container 21 has on each side an outer flap 25, alocking flap 27, a bin flap 22, and a side flap 28. Flap 27 is providedwith a locking recess 30 and flap 22 has its lower edge trimmed as at29. Bin opening is limited by trimming the upper edge of bin flap 22 toleave a projection thereon. Upon opening the bin, the above describedprojection rotates into abutting contact with the lower edge of panel 24as shown at 31. By adjusting recess 30 as well as the trimming of flap22 it is possible to lock the bin in a fixed-open condition at anydesired position.

The embodiments of my invention as abovevoutlined are onlyrepresentative of many possible combinations. For instance a usefulcontainer could be made with a different flap folding sequence or withmy novel locking means employed on only one side thereof. Also thecontainer could be inverted or rotated in orientation without departingfrom the scope of my invention.

The embodiments of my invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows.

I claim:

1. A folded dispensing container comprising:

a front panel defining the front wall of a dispensing bin;

a pair of inwardly directed bin flaps foldably attached to opposed sideedges of the front panel; and reclosure restraining means comprising:

a side flap disposed interiorly of a corresponding bin flap,

an outer flap disposed exteriorly of said bin flap,

and

a locking flap interposed between the side flap and outer flap and bythe cooperative action thereof urged laterally toward the correspondingbin fl p;

the locking flap and corresponding bin flap extending toward each otherfor partial face-to-face contact, said contact being so limited as tovanishingly diminish during partial opening of the bin thereby producingedgewise alignment of the locking flap and bin flap for edge abuttingreclosure restraint.

2. A folded dispensing container according to claim 1 furthercomprising:

a bottom panel foldably joined along its front edge to the front panel;

a rear panel foldably joined along its bottom edge to the bottom panel;and

a top panel foldably joined along its rear edge to the rear panel; saidcontainer being of single-piece construction and said side flap, outerflap, and locking fiap being foldably attached to the three panels aboveset out on corresponding sides thereof.

3. A folded dispensing container according to claim 2 further comprisingmeans for restricting bin opening to a predetermined amount andcooperating with said locking flap to lock the bin in a fixed-openposition.

4. A folded dispensing container according to claim 3, the rear paneland the front panel being of substantially equal height and the binflaps being trimmed along their upper edges to permit opening of thebin; the amount of trim being such that the trimmed edges engage theunder surface of the top panel when the bin flap lower edges clear thelockingflap recesses, thereby halting the bin opening sequence andlocking the bin in a fixed open position.

5. A folded dispensing container according to claim 4 further comprisingreclosure restraining means on both sides thereof, each of saidreclosure restraining means being defined as above set out.

6. A folded dispensing container according to claim 5, the lockingfiaps' being provided with area reducing recesses for producing saidpartial face-to-face contact with the bin flaps.

7. A folded dispensing container according to claim 6, the outer flapsbeing foldably attached to opposed sides of the top panel, the lockingfiaps being foldably attached to opposed sides of the rear panel, andthe side flaps being foldably attached to opposed sides of the bottompanel.

8. A folded dispensing container according to claim 7 further comprisingon each side a row of staples joining the outer flaps to the side flaps,each row of staples being disposed in proximity and parallel to the foldline joining the corresponding side flap to the bottom panel, and thebin flap lower edges being trimmed to provide clearance for the rows ofstaples.

9. A folded dispensing container according to claim 8 further comprisinga removable sealing strip for joining the front edge of the top panel tothe upper edge of the front panel and thereby maintaining the dispensingbin in closed position for shipment.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,221,488 4/1917 Troup 206-311,645,771 10/ 19,27 Pillsbury 206-31 3,241,737 3/1966 Steinbock 229-17DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

